I just recently ran across a "church sign" stating
""Amber Alert" - Jesus missing!
Last seen in your heart."
We are all familiar with the term "Amber Alert" and that it is the universal bulletin and notification that a child is missing and to be on the lookout for them.
Now this statement as a church sign just makes no sense at all to me. Aside from the literal meaning of the sentence actually not making sense,the idea that Jesus could be missing is just ludicrous! Don't get me wrong, I do "get" what they were going for, but... really now... it's a stretch, don't you agree?
It is never Jesus that is the one missing. He is never the one we have to go looking for, because He is always right there, just as close as breathing His name. It is I that must make the effort to not go missing from His presence. It is I that has to be found when I choose to separate myself from His love. To call out an all Amber Alert for a God that is missing is just not Biblical.
In all my life never one time have I ever had to go searching for the Lord. I have found Him to be instantly there whenever I need Him. There are times that I feel closer to His presence than others, but that is because of me moving, not Him. Seasons of changes in our relationship come, but that is predicated by me and my reaction to situations, not any doing on His part. He said I will never leave you, nor forsake you, and I have found that to be TRUTH. Even in the darkest trials of my life I have never found Him to be missing. Maybe He doesn't respond to my every whim, but I KNOW He is there looking out for me. Sometimes we feel in a desert place with no direction, and we don't have the feeling that God is there, but we still KNOW that He IS there waiting on us to get to the place where we can hear His voice again.
Now I am sure that the person who created the sign had good intentions, but really now they need a Bible Lesson! If you are going to make public declarations, be able to back it up! He is not missing, He is risen and lives with us forever more!
